Robert Hinde (British Army officer)

Major General Sir William Robert Norris "Looney" Hinde, KBE, CB, DSO & Two Bars (25 June 1900 – 13 July 1981) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and in the Mau Mau Uprising in colonial Kenya.[1]

Sir William Hinde
Nickname(s)"Looney"
Born(1900-06-25)25 June 1900
Cupar, Fife, Scotland
Died13 July 1981(1981-07-13) (aged 81)
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1919−1958
RankMajor General
Service number10830
Unit15th Hussars
15th/19th Hussars
Commands held22nd Armoured Brigade (1943-44)
20th Armoured Brigade (1942)
15th/19th Hussars (1940-42)
Battles/warsSecond World War
Mau Mau Uprising
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order & 2 Bars
Spouse(s)Evelyn Muriel Wright

Biography

Hinde was born in Cupar, Fife, and was educated at Wellington College,[2] before training as a "Gentlemen Cadet" at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 15th Hussars on 16 July 1919,[3] and promoted to lieutenant in the combined 15th/19th Hussars on 16 July 1921.[4]

Hinde was a keen polo player and was selected as a member of the British polo team to compete in the 1936 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal. He played both matches in the tournament, the first against Mexico and the final against Argentina.[2]

He was promoted to captain, and then on 10 January 1938 to major.[5] From 1940 to 1942 he served as commander of the 15th/19th Hussars,[6] receiving promotion to lieutenant colonel on 10 January 1941.[7]

From 26 August 1942 until 7 December 1942 he commanded the 20th Armoured Brigade,[6][8]: 283  with the temporary rank of brigadier, and then from 23 January 1943 to 7 August 1944 was commander of the 22nd Armoured Brigade, seeing active service in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe; particularly in Normandy and in the Battle of Villers-Bocage.[6][8]: 284  On 27 May 1944 he was promoted to the substantive rank of colonel, with seniority from 10 January.[9]

From 1945 to 1948 he was Deputy Military Governor of the British Sector of Berlin.[6] He was promoted to brigadier on 12 October 1948,[10] and from October 1948 to July 1949 was Deputy Commander of the North-West District.[8]: 228  He returned to Germany to serve as Deputy Commanding Officer, Lower Saxony, from 1949 to 1951.[6] Hinde was appointed an Aide-de-Camp to the King on 24 November 1950.[11] From 1952 to 1953 he served as District Officer Commanding Cyrenaica District, North Africa.[6]

In January 1953, Hinde was appointed Director of Operations, Kenya,[12] with the temporary rank of major-general,[13] to lead an offensive against the Mau Mau rebels.[6][14] He relinquished his appointment on 31 March 1956,[15] and his temporary rank on 18 June 1956.[16]

On 1 January 1957 Hinde was appointed Colonel of the 15/19th Hussars.[17] On 11 April 1957 he retired from active duty, with the honorary rank of major-general,[18] and serving in the Army Reserve of Officers until reaching mandatory retirement age on 25 June 1958.[19] He continued to serve as Colonel of the 15th/19th Hussars until 1 January 1964.[20]

Awards and decorations
Olympic medal record
Men's polo
Silver medal – second place 1936 Berlin Team competition

On 22 July 1943 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East",[21][22] and on 19 August 1943 received a Bar to his DSO.[23][24] On 14 February 1946 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field" he received a second Bar.[25]

In the King's Birthday Honours of 10 June 1948, Hinde was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE),[26] and in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 31 May 1956, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).[27]

On 19 July 1955 he was appointed a Companion of the Bath (CB) "in recognition of distinguished service in Kenya during the period 21st October 1954, to 20th April 1955".[28]

On 1 January 1955 he received a mention in dispatches "in recognition of distinguished services in Kenya during the period 21st April to 20th October 1954."[29]

Personal life

He married Evelyn Muriel Wright, daughter of Captain Henry FitzHerbert Wright and Muriel Harriet Fletcher on 22 July 1926. The couple had one son, William (Bill), and three daughters, Elizabeth, Cathryn and Victoria.[1] Hinde's nickname "Looney" was a tribute to both his courage and eccentricity; on one occasion while briefing his senior officers in Normandy in mid-June 1944 he was distracted by a rare caterpillar, which he promptly collected.[30] In May 1947 he was detained by a Russian patrol while wandering along the border of the British and Soviet sectors of Berlin with a pair of binoculars. After explaining that he was simply birdwatching he was released with an apology.[31] Hinde died on 13 July 1981, aged 81, at Salisbury, Wiltshire.[2]

References
  1. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Vol. 2 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 1592. Retrieved 16 January 2015 – via Peerage.com.
  2. "William Robert Norris Hinde". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  3. "No. 31505". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 12 August 1919. p. 10342.
  4. "No. 32736". The London Gazette. 8 August 1922. p. 5865.
  5. "No. 34473". The London Gazette. 14 January 1938. p. 290.
  6. "Hinde, Sir William Robert Norris". Generals.dk. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  7. "No. 35129". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 4 April 1941. p. 2028.
  8. Mackie, Colin. "Senior Army Appointments" (PDF). Gulabin.com. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  9. "No. 36600". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 7 July 1944. p. 3225.
  10. "No. 38486". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 21 December 1948. p. 6657.
  11. "No. 39074". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 24 November 1950. p. 5877.
  12. Smith, Jamie. "British Military Strategy in Kenya". Britain's Small Wars. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  13. "No. 39789". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 27 February 1953. p. 1221.
  14. Boddy-Evans, Alistair. "Mau Mau Rebellion Timeline: 1951-1963". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  15. "No. 40763". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 24 April 1956. p. 2455.
  16. "No. 40811". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 19 June 1956. p. 3649.
  17. "No. 40965". The London Gazette (6th supplement). 28 December 1956. p. 77.
  18. "No. 41079". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 24 May 1957. p. 3157.
  19. "No. 41432". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 27 June 1958. p. 4127.
  20. "No. 43209". The London Gazette (10th supplement). 31 December 1963. p. 73.
  21. "No. 36102". The London Gazette. 20 July 1943. p. 3313.
  22. "Recommendation for Award for Hinde, William Robert Morris". National Archives. 1943. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  23. "No. 36138". The London Gazette. 17 August 1943. p. 3721.
  24. "Recommendation for Award for Hinde, William Robert Norris". National Archives. 1943. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  25. "No. 37466". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 12 February 1946. p. 947.
  26. "No. 38311". The London Gazette. 4 June 1948. p. 3370.
  27. "No. 40787". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 25 May 1956. p. 3107.
  28. "No. 40538". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 15 July 1955. p. 4153.
  29. "No. 40372". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 1954. p. 54.
  30. Hastings, Max (2010) [1984]. Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944. London, UK: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-44728-873-2.
  31. Christopher Mayhew, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (19 May 1947). "Brigadier W. R. N. Hinde (Arrest and Release)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 1983–1984.
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